East Side Road Revegetation

Client East Side Road Authority (ESRA)
Location All-season road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg between PR 307 and Berens River First Nation
Completed Early phases completed in 2013, project ongoing
Scale Revegetation of 150 km of roadway
Team SMM

2015 CSLA National Award

The ESRA Revegetation is a multi-year, multi-phased project involving over 150 km of new roadway built through an undisturbed landscape on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. The East Side Road Authority (ESRA) has been mandated to revegetate road sides and right-of-ways with long-lived, appropriate native seed mixes.

SMM’s work was multi-faceted, from training contractors to designing revegetation programs, including innovative revegetation techniques, capture harvest of local native grass seed for use in revegetation, seed processing, species identification and team leadership. SMM coordinated revegetation and site preparation work on multiple road contracts, developing efficient revegetation methodologies that blend with the environment yet fit with the construction program. A key success was the unprecedented development of commercially viable plant material for northern sites.

In addition to revegetation activities, SMM has been coordinating the training and employment of First Nations contractors and residents with the support of all local First Nations Chiefs. This work has been ongoing in the communities of Bloodvein First Nation and Hollow Water First Nation since 2012. All training and hiring activities are coordinated through a community liaison identified by the Chiefs.